Alex & Me CD: How a Scientist and a Parrot Discovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence--and Formed a Deep Bond in the Process

Product Details

On September 6, 2007, an African Grey parrot named Alex died prematurely at age thirty-one. His last words to his owner, Irene Pepperberg, were "You be good. I love you."

What would normally be a quiet, very private event was, in Alex's case, headline news. Over the thirty years they had worked together, Alex and Irene had become famoustwo pioneers who opened an unprecedented window into the hidden yet vast world of animal minds. Alex's brain was the size of a shelled walnut, and when Irene and Alex first met, birds were not believed to possess any potential for language, consciousness, or anything remotely comparable to human intelligence. Yet, over the years, Alex proved many things. He could add. He could sound out words. He understood concepts like bigger, smaller, more, fewer, and none. He was capable of thought and intention. Together, Alex and Irene uncovered a startling reality: We live in a world populated by thinking, conscious creatures.

The fame that resulted was extraordinary. Yet there was a side to their relationship that never made the papers. They were emotionally connected to one another. They shared a deep bond far beyond science. Alex missed Irene when she was away. He was jealous when she paid attention to other parrots, or even people. He liked to show her who was boss. He loved to dance. He sometimes became bored by the repetition of his tests, and played jokes on her. Sometimes they sniped at each other. Yet nearly every day, they each said, "I love you."

Alex and Irene stayed together through thick and thindespite sneers from experts, extraordinary financial sacrifices, and a nomadic existence from one univer­sity to another. The story of their thirty-year adventure is equally a landmark of scientific achievement and of an unforgettable human-animal bond.

Product Reviews

(2 stars) - a meaningful lapse
Near the end of her book Alex & Me, in a chapter called "What Alex Taught Me," the author Irene Pepperberg says: "Some people take this new understanding of animal minds as an argument for treating animals as if they had the same rights we give to ourselves. That is as wrong as ... " What is so remarkable about this quote is how jarring it is in a book that celebrates animal intelligence and the interconnectedness of all life. While THIS reviewer is not suggesting that we give the right to VOTE to grey parrots (if this reviewer had his way, not every HUMAN would have that sacred right), what is clear to me, from this absolutely grating and gratuitous paragraph (as though an evil gremlin had sneaked in this nasty disclaimer), is that whatever Alex HAD tried to teach Ms. Pepperberg, she did not learn. If this book has any meaning whatever, it is that animals DO (or ought to) have rights.

(5 stars) - Yes they can think
It is a family joke that an aunt who had a dog would sometimes observe that "It can almost think". Irene Pepperberg has demonstrated with her beloved Alex, an african grey parrot, that not only can the bird with a brain the size of a shelled walnut communicate in human language but that it can understand what it is saying and can construct its own interpretations. Alex can certainly think. The example of Alex's description of an almond as a 'cork nut', combining the elements of the outer shell texture with the known edible content, demonstrates just how intelligent this bird is. As Irene says in several places throughout the book Alex demonstrates many traits that previous animal intelligence wisdom (read dogma) had said should be impossible. This book is a real treat from beginning to end. For those who don't want to believe that animal intelligence is a necessary precursor to the the evolution of human intelligence then this book is not for you.

(5 stars) - Alex & Me and Gould
Excellent moving book once again showing the animal kingdom is capable of much more than we know. It reminds me of Stephen Gould's quote: "The most important scientific revolutions all include, as their only common feature, the dethronement of human arrogance from one pedestal after another of previous convictions about our centrality in the cosmos."

(5 stars) - Alex & Me
A great book. Gives us a glimpse into the life of an African Grey Parrot and his friend and colleague, who wrote the book. We seem to not understand the rich emotional and cognitive life which surrounds us in other animals. Alex and his teacher, Irene M. Pepperberg, share a compelling journey of some thirty years. Alex, though the vision of Dr. Pepperberg, shows us the promise of better understanding of other species. We don't even have to venture away from our little planet to experience this.

(5 stars) - ALEX & ME
THE BOOK IS EXCELLENT. I RECEIVED THE BOOK AS ADVERTISED. AND I WILL DEFINITELY BUY FROM THIS SELLER AGAIN.

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